Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The House Ways and Means Committee is the oldest , and arguably the most powerful , in Congress with members responsible for writing the nation 's tax laws .

But a CNN investigation of all 39 Democrats and Republicans on the committee found that at least eight members have faced tax problems of their own .

For example , New York Rep. Tom Reed has been late paying his property taxes at least 46 times since 2005 . And he racked up more than $ 6,200 in penalties and interest on more than $ 100,000 in taxes , according to county records .

On a stunning lake house in New York 's Finger Lakes region and a home in Corning , Reed missed a combined 16 tax payments over nine years .

On three other buildings in Corning and another in Bath Village , Reed had a total of 20 late payments over eight years .

And on a mobile home park and two other commercial properties , Reed was late on his taxes 10 times since 2007 , according to county records .

So what happened ?

`` You know it 's just like a lot of people , these are things that just happen and they were paid within the allotted time , '' Reed told CNN .

But unlike a lot of people , Reed is charged with writing the nation 's tax laws .

Asked if he should be helping to write laws he has trouble following , the Republican lawmaker said , `` Well , I mean these are real property tax bills , which is different than what the Ways and Means does with income tax bills . And I mean we 're paying them , we paid them within the allotted time and that 's it . ''

Reed likened the late tax payments to missing a utility bill , saying that while he was late -- and paid penalties because of it -- the taxes never went unpaid .

Steve Ellis of the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense said that `` lots of Americans run afoul of tax laws , but you 'd think the people who are actually writing it would n't get this wrong . ''

But they do .

Take Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Renacci , for instance .

He fought state tax officials for years , refusing to pay nearly $ 1.4 million in back income taxes , interest and penalties .

Renacci declined several interview requests , but a spokeswoman issued a statement .

Renacci was `` appealing an attempt by the new tax commissioner to impose a unilateral and retroactive tax on Ohio taxpayers . In a 3-2 split decision , the state Supreme Court ruled that the commissioner had the authority to impose the retroactive tax . At that time , while he strongly disagreed with decision to levy taxes retroactively , Jim Renacci paid the assessment in full , including interest and penalties , '' the statement said .

But the Ohio tax commissioner categorized Renacci 's battle differently , writing in his final determination that his fellow Republican `` failed to act in good faith . ''

Another Ohioan , Rep. Pat Tiberi , was criticized for not paying employment taxes on his campaign workers . Instead of hiring employees for the 2008 and 2010 campaigns , he hired consultants as independent contractors -- and avoided the payroll taxes .

The Republican said he followed IRS rules .

`` We have a tax lawyer . That 's part of the reason why campaigns are so expensive because we have a CPA who does our filing , '' he said . `` We have tax lawyers that are on call to make sure that we follow the letter of the law . ''

But Ellis called the lawmakers ' tax problems `` outrageous . ''

`` Nobody wants to feel like a chump when they 're paying their taxes and if they see that their lawmakers , the ones who actually write the tax laws , are n't paying their bills , it 's going to make them wonder why they 're paying theirs , '' Ellis said .

Some of the transgressions were relatively minor .

For instance , Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan had to pay a $ 59 fine after understating his income . And Indiana Republican Rep. Todd Young paid $ 1,500 in tax penalties after a mortgage escrow mix up .

`` I accept full responsibility for past late payments , and have paid all taxes and fees I owed . I regret the errors and offer no excuses , '' Young told CNN in a statement . `` Since then , I have taken corrective action to ensure this does n't occur again . ''

Tennessee Republican Rep. Diane Black 's situation was a bit more complicated .

A property that she and her husband own racked up almost $ 4,000 in penalties and interest after her husband 's business paid the bill late . A spokesman explained that the company did not receive the tax notice , but paid the bill the day that company officials learned it was overdue .

Florida Republican Vern Buchanan 's run-ins with the IRS make him the frontrunner for most expensive tax problem , costing him $ 2.5 million .

Buchanan fought the IRS contention that he owed an additional $ 1 million in taxes . In 2002 , after years of fighting , he paid $ 1.2 million in taxes -- the amount he insisted he owed -- plus another $ 1.3 million in penalties and interest he racked up during the fight .

Finally , there 's New York Democrat Charles Rangel . He lost his chairmanship of the committee in 2010 and was censured in part for his failure to pay taxes on rental income from his swank villa in the Dominican Republic .

Yet years later , both Rangel and Buchanan still sit on the committee .

How Washington spends your taxes

CNN 's Scott Bronstein and Curt Devine contributed to this report .

Watch The Lead with Jake Tapper weekdays at 4pm ET . For the latest on The Lead with Jake Tapper click here .

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Eight of the 39 members of House Ways and Means have had tax issues of their own

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Committee is responsible for writing the country 's tax laws

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Issues range from a $ 59 late payment to a $ 2.5 million tax bill

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Some of the issues with congressional lawmakers involve state and local taxes